NEW YORK -- Wall Street was poised to extend its losses Friday, a day after the Dow Jones industrial average sank to its lowest level in more than six years and triggered a global sell-off overnight.

Stock prices fell almost 2 percent in Japan and were down more sharply in key European markets following U.S. trading that took the Dow to its lowest level since Oct. 9, 2002, the depths of the last bear market.

Key financial stocks including Citigroup Inc. and Bank of America Corp. were falling again in premarket trading after being battered Thursday. Both Citi and Bank of America have been among the hardest hit by the ongoing turmoil in the industry and received multiple multibillion investments from the government to help stabilize their operations.

"There's perceived disappointment from the lack of clarity from the Treasury (Department) for what it will do with the financial sector," said Wasif Latif, portfolio manager at USAA Investment Management Co. "That's hitting financials regularly."

Stocks have fallen steadily over the past two weeks as investors lost confidence in multiple Obama administration programs aimed at bolstering the economy. The market's inability to rally signals that investors don't have a sense of when the recession, already 14 months old, will end.

"We're going through a tug of war between optimism and pessimism," Latif said. "When there is a lack of clarity, it becomes more of an emotional or psychological environment. The mood can sway on any given day based on the flow of news coming out."

The Labor Department said consumer prices rose 0.3 percent in January, matching the forecast of economists polled by Thomson Reuters. The rise in the Consumer Price Index, which is a key measure of inflation, was the largest gain since July. Over the past year, inflation has been flat, the lowest reading in more than a half-century.

Investors received further evidence of the sagging economy as home improvement retailer Lowe's Cos. said its fourth-quarter profit dropped 60 percent after customers cut back on spending. Lowe's also provided a 2009 earnings forecast that was short of analysts' expectations.